Term ended May 1, 2022 · High confidence
20-year base term ended May 1, 2022
Held by DMZ Global LLC
Filed May 1, 2002 as application 10/135,389 · Granted Nov 18, 2003
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Term ended May 1, 2022
2002
2026
Clock starts
May 1, 2002
May 1, 2002
Term ended
May 1, 2022
May 1, 2022
Granted
Nov 18, 2003
Nov 18, 2003
base term
after the term ends
fee events
Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
3 of 3
Maintenance fees paid
Three maintenance fees fall due, at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years from grant. This counts the ones the record shows paid.
52
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
This patent's term is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees were paid, so no fee lapse ended it. Confidence: High. from the record
How we calculated this date
One row per rule, each showing its own input and what it did to the date. A step we could not verify says so instead of resolving itself.
| Step | Input | Date after this step | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base term, 20 years from filing | Clock starts May 1, 2002, when this application, 10/135,389, was filed | May 1, 2022 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 3 of 3 maintenance fees paid | term ended | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | May 1, 2022 | High confidence |
This family
| US 6,450,836 | Term ended May 2021 | May 2021 |
| US 6,648,683 | this patent May 2022 | May 2022 |
| US 6,712,631 | Term ended Dec 2022 | Dec 2022 |
| US 7,404,737 | In force May 2027 | May 2027 |
| US 7,837,501 | In force Mar 2029 | Mar 2029 |
| US 9,039,446 | In force Jun 2033 | Jun 2033 |
| Application PCT/US2013/045233 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 9,654,062 | Lapsed on the fee record May 2025 | May 2025 |
8 of 52 applications in this family shown, earliest filings first. The applications whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Assignments
Assignment documents as recorded at the USPTO, oldest first, with the reel and frame each was recorded at. A recorded assignment is a filed document, not a statement of current ownership, and the absence of a later one is not evidence that the last one still stands.
| Recorded | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2002 Reel 12862, frame 918 | Youtsey, Timothy L. | PCT International, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Mar 24, 2003 Reel 13879, frame 710 | PCT International, Inc. | Wells Fargo Business Credit, Inc. | Security Interest |
| Oct 18, 2012 Reel 29150, frame 753 | Andes Industries, Inc. | Lan, Dennis | Security Agreement |
| Apr 3, 2018 Reel 45427, frame 717 | PCT International, Inc. | Bibby Financial Services (CA), Inc. | Security Interest |
| Feb 16, 2022 Reel 59126, frame 491 | PCT International, Inc. | Sallyport Commercial Finance, LLC | Security Interest |
| Oct 22, 2025 Reel 73172, frame 788 | PCT International, Inc. | DMZ Global LLC | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
Sources
Google Patents · The patent document at USPTO · Assignment records at USPTO
USPTO account required: This application in Patent Center · USPTO's maintenance fee lookup
Maintenance fee events come from USPTO's own fee records. Its fee lookup asks for the patent number and the application number.
Citations
90
later US patents cite this one
That is top 10% of utility patents granted in 2003 in our data, the only group it is compared against.
How we rank
Every date shows its work: the base term, any term adjustment or extension, any disclaimer cap, and the maintenance fee record, each with a confidence tier. How this record was built
Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.